The language of the snakes
by Lafenna
Summary: A different Harry Potter enters the Wizarding World with a different view on things.   A what-if story that focusing primarily on Harry, some Dumbledore-bashing.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter One**

Somewhere in England in a small town called 'Little Whinging' which housed Privet Drive number 4. Inside the nearly obsessively-cleaned house resided a certain, black haired boy with startling emerald eyes. His name was Harry Potter and from his too-thin body and the bruises on his back one could easily see the years of abuse and neglect he had suffered from his relative's hands had anyone actually _cared_. Because ten year-old Harry Potter was alone. And he sure as hell knew that.

It started at his fifth birthday you see, he might have _accidentally _bribed a non-poisonous snake to bite his cousin Dudley which definitely freaked his aunt and uncle out. It wasn't the fact that they _knew _it was him (or just blamed him anyway) that surprised him, the fact that he, the unimportant freak, could talk to _snakes_. It was the beginning of a beautiful friendship with the creatures.

When he was seven he was talking to a tiny green snake hidden in the bushes aunt Petunia made him trim when it hissed something about a _king_.

_"What king?" _Harry hissed softly as he tried to appear as if he was still trimming the bushes when aunt Petunia looked out of the kitchen window.

_"__The __king, he sssleepsss eternally but wakesss when a sssspeaker appearsss in the room-under-ground," _the snake hissed back with her characteristic drawn-out s's as her eyes shined with unspoken adoration for this king that she said to live in a basement.

_"The king livesss in a basssement?" _Harry asked dumbfounded as his seven year-old mind tried to come up with names of snakes that could be a king and live in a basement.

Their conversation was cut short with a high-pitched scream of "Snake!" and a broom killing the tiny green reptilian, Harry didn't get any food for two days and was locked in his cupboard for two weeks. Apparently, aunt Petunia wasn't as dense as her whale-like husband and son, or she just had a sixth-sense, Harry never found out.

This little incident made up little Harry's mind, one day he would get revenge on the horse-like woman who called herself his aunt and treated him like a slave or something, Harry read something about that in the library he was hiding in when running from his cousin and his gang, they didn't like books so they never searched for him there. And they had free cookies, those mattered too.

By the time Harry was nine he actually had some of the tinier and smarter snakes residing in the shadows of his humble abode, the cupboard under the stairs, and _finally _found out about the 'King'. According to an old darker-green snake who called himself _'Shhhtrss ' _that the king lived under the Casssstle-Of-Magic where Thosse-With-Magic lived and that he was the biggest snake ever to live, when asking for an explanation about those people-with-magic the snakes just stared at him before hissing _"Are you not one of them? You sssshould know." _Before dismissing the conversation.

Snakes didn't take too kindly to asking questions they deemed stupid or dumb.

When Harry was ten he had crudely drawn plans in his head, all of them revolving revenge, Dursleys and snakes, and he wanted nothing more than achieve the means to use said plans. The snakes seemed to like this, they constantly hissed encouragement when Harry started his plotting and occasionally piped up with helpful, and rather gory, ideas. It was a good thing Harry wasn't into beheading or the Dursleys might have had a problem.

In the year between the first time he heard of the Casssstle-Of-Magic and 'Harry's revenge' Harry had learnt a lot, the snakes told him about said castle and about what happened inside. From the room-under-ground where the King resided to a whole biography about some guy named Salazar Slytherin. Apparently there were some sort of clubs at that school where you either belonged to the loyal, the reckless, the smart or the cunning and ambitious. One snake in particular spoke bad of all houses except one named after Salazar Slytherin, which was _'If you wisssh to sssucceed you ssshal have to get in that one, comrade.' _

He even found out he was a wizard before ever receiving a letterfrom the castle-of-magic which he smuggled into his cupboard the moment he saw it, the fact that he _never ever _received mail made him suspicious and Harry knew that uncle Vernon would immediately confiscate it. That, and no one ever noticed the twenty odd snakes living in his cupboard, just because they didn't dare to look there. Too afraid of catching his 'freakiness'.

It basically said:

_HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY_

_Headmaster: ALBUS DUMBLEDORE  
>(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc., Chf. Warlock,<br>Supreme Mugwump, International Confed. of Wizards)_

_Dear Harry Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment._

_Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31. Yours sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall,  
>Deputy Headmistress<em>

HOGWARTS SCHOOL of WITCHCRAFT and WIZARDRY

UNIFORM

First-year students will require:

1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)

plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)

4. One winter cloak (black, with silver fastenings)

Please note that all pupil's clothes should carry name tags.

COURSE BOOKS

All students should have a copy of each of the following:

**The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)**

by Miranda Goshawk

**A History of Magic**

by Bathilda Bagshot

**Magical Theory**

by Adalbert Waffling

**A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration**

by Emeric Switch

**One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi**

by Phyllida Spore

**Magical Drafts and Potions**

by Arsenius Jigger  
><strong>Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them<strong>

by Newt Scamander  
><strong>The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection<strong>

by Quentin Trimble

OTHER EQUIPMENT

1 wand  
>1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)<br>1 set glass or crystal phials

1 telescope

1 set brass scales

Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad.

PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST YEARS

ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICK

Harry was ecstatic, as were the snakes, as their suspicion was proven to be true. They kept hissing about opportunities, Slytherin and the king. Harry, of course, just dreamt about his revenge and finally added 'humiliation by magic' to his long list of things he wanted to do to the Dursleys.

It was exactly one week after Harry received the letter, meaning it was his birthday, that he decided he had enough. The snakes provided him with valuable information and he had been stealing some money from his relatives for quite some time now, it should be enough to get him to where he wanted to be. From there on he'd just see what happened, the snakes didn't care, if it came down to it the streets would be a far better place for the boy anyway.

He packed a rucksack he grabbed from Dudley's room when he was gone and searched the telephone book for a taxi service as he counted the amount of pounds in his hand. Harry sighed with relief as the woman assured him the taxi would be there within ten minutes, the Dursleys would be home in twenty.

He then grabbed one of uncle Vernon's expensive leather suitcases as he emptied it of its content, mainly boring papers about Grunnings, the company he worked for, and some pencils and paper, which he kept. He then proceeded to fill the now nearly-empty suitcase with the snakes that wanted to travel directly with him. Some others had left already to where Harry expected to stay, somewhere called Diagon Alley, to get settled into various tiny places they'd fit in.

Harry merely smiled as he thought of what he could learn at that one alley, the very thing the Dursleys had always hoped to beat out of him, _magic!_ The snakes weren't exactly too knowledgeable on the subject and tended to avoid most wizards, but they _always _came to a speaker. He, or in some rare cases a she, who spoke what Harry came to call _snakespeak _because they gained something from a snakespeaker's presence. Harry still didn't understand just _what _they got from being with him, it certainly wasn't food or anything. But he honestly didn't care, they talked to him and in a way cared for him more than anyone else. And they would be a vital piece in his plan for revenge, that too mattered.

The taxi driver turned to face Harry and asked in a rather high-pitched voice "Well lad, where do you want to go?"

Harry recited the name of the street from where the snakes said he'd be able to enter Diagon alley as he beamed at the driver with genuine happiness, he _really _wanted to go there.

Harry and the taxi driver made some small talk, Harry telling some lies about his family and the driver rattling on and on about his friends and his horse whom he just _adored_. All by all the nearly two-hour trip to a run-down café (or a restaurant, Harry honestly couldn't tell the difference because _obviously _the Dursleys never took him to one) where Harry paid the driver the money and waved when he drove off.

What? Harry just happens to like attention from other people.

Harry then carried his suitcase into the building, reading the words 'The leaky cauldron' hanging from a sign next to the door. A bell chimed when he opened the door and his eyes widened as he took in the completely unfamiliar scene unfolding in front of his very own eyes.

A fireplace had _green _flames burning and he saw drinks _floating _from the bar towards several tables where various people sat, candles hung from the walls and bathed the room in a dim light while shadows grew and shrunk on the stone floor beneath them. Dark wooden tables and chairs were scattered throughout the area and behind the bar stood the ugliest person Harry had ever seen, and coming from someone living with Dudley and Vernon Dursley that says something.

The man was old, lines covering his bald face, and his eyes were bloodshot and slightly misty. His nose was .. well .. ugly, it resembled a potato more than it did a nose. He even had a hunchback and he was currently staring at one Harry Potter.

Harry nervously fidgeted with the handle of his suitcase as he shuffled towards where the ugly man stood, cleaning glasses with a dirty rag.

"Excuse me sir, err .. is this the way to Diagon Alley?" Harry asked as politely as he could, trying to make at least a decent impression.

"Yer's right on that lad," the ugly barman said with a smile, showing a gap between his two yellowing front teeth and several other teeth missing "This's the way to the ole alley, m'name's Tom ."

"I am Harry, nice to meet you," Harry said, smiling uncertainly at the man as he inwardly shuddered, why should someone look like this if they had magic? Couldn't magic do anything?

"Yer's Harry Potter arnt'ya lad? Dunworry, I ain't saying anything, but ye might wanna cover up that scar yer have there," the man said whilst grinning as he pointed one finger at Harry's forehead, right where his lightning-shaped scar was, currently hidden under his mob of unruly black hair.

"Why?" Harry asked, curiosity coating his voice, and not about how the barman knew his name.

"'Cause otherwise ye won't be getting any of yer shopping done, yer famous here, didn't yer relatives or sumthing tell ya that?"

"No sir, they didn't. Do you have a hat then? So I can cover up my scar .." Harry asked, shifting his eyes downward as he mentally hit himself, grown-ups didn't like being asked questions. Uncle Vernon and aunt Petunia never did.

"Of course, a minute lad and I'll get yer a hat, watch," Tom said as he fumbled around in his pockets before finding what he searched for, a stick. The man casually waved the stick over the dishrag he'd been holding and mumbled something and faster than Harry's eyes could see the rag was gone, in its place a chequered hat.

"How did you do that?" Harry demanded as he frowned at the hat, his polite mask gone as he desired the answer.

"Magic," the old man grinned as his eyes glowed before placing the hat on Harry's head.

"Teach me!" Harry demanded as he lifted the hat from his head and held it in front of him before bringing it closer to his glasses to inspect it closely.

"Are ye stayin' here for the reminder 'f the summer?" Tom asked as he regarded the boy with a certain fondness, that the saviour of the wizarding world had such interest in magic was a good thing in his old eyes.

"If that means you'll teach me magic, then yes I will."

"Good, I ain't charging ya nothing 's long as ye help me 'roung every now 'n then, ye can have one of the attic rooms, bit 'n the dusty side they are but nothing too bad," Tom said as he handed Harry a tiny key before he picked up another rag to clean the nearly-forgotten glasses in front of him.

"Deal, I will unpack first and then you will teach me, yes?" Harry said, his voice forceful in his hope to _finally _learn magic as he pocketed the key.

The bald man just nodded as he watched the boy pick up his suitcase before walking to the stairs at the far end of his bar. The boy was even more enthusiastic than the many muggleborns Tom saw every year. And they were all nearly bouncing, but this peculiar boy with his bright green eyes that shone with eagerness when he saw Tom do that simple bit of magic had trumped the reactions of all the muggleborns he'd ever seen.

Harry was climbing the whirling staircase until it went no further, leaving him standing in a faintly-lit hallway with three doors on its side. Dust coated the wooden floor that creaked at every step as Harry shuffled across it, not knowing which door to choose.

In the end he tried the key on every door before it opened the one on the far left. It opened with a creak as the hinges protested against being used after such a long time of being left alone.

The room was as dark as the hallway, only a few candles on the wall burning softly the moment he opened the door. A single bed was in the far corner, it's cushion and blanket a faded green colour with dust on them. A lonely armchair stood next to a tiny dark-wooden desk and an equally dark chair with a thick layer of dust on both of them. A singly portrait hung on the walls, dark green curtains hung on the background of the canvas yet no person or object was visible as it was empty except for the curtains.

All by all it was at least five times the size of his cupboard, something that pleased Harry to no end.

Harry hesitantly walked into the room and dumped his suitcase on the bed, causing some of the dust to hump up and making Harry's nose twitch as he held back a sneeze. He quickly opened the locks, eager for his friends to get out of their temporary prison as they eagerly slithered out of the suitcase, their eyes taking in their surroundings.

_"Thisss iss much better than your previousss den," _a female named Ssshennss hissed in a content voice as her tongue flickered in and out of her mouth.

_"Yessss, and I will be taught magic here," _Harry answered as he sat down on the armchair, happily noting that it was pleasantly comfortable and soft instead of the uncomfortable stiffness he expected.

_"Good, you will grow, yess? You will learn and become great, like the great Sssalazar Ssslytherin, yess?"_another hissed as he curled around Harry's leg.

_"Yess, I will," _Harry promised as he looked at the snakes exploring his new _room, _newplans unravelling in his mind.

* * *

><p><strong>AN.**

**My version of Harry Potter and what would happen if he found out he could talk to snakes at a much earlier age.**  
><strong>Characters will be portrayed as I see them (*Cough* Dumbledore *Cough*) because I dislike the way he basically <em>uses <em>Harry.**  
><strong>Also, story will not be my main concern, I will update when I see fit to do so and have other priorities. This is just for fun.<strong>

**Anyway, thank you for reading and please review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter Two**

Harry placed his few belongings on the desk before putting the hat back on his head, adjusting it so that it covered his forehead. Or at least so he hoped as he had no mirror to see the result. He was pleased however with the new arrivals he had in his room, several tiny snakes had slithered from their hiding places as they heard Harry speaking snakespeak to the others. Harry smiled a rather disturbing smile as he thought of what the Dursleys would do when they saw his room here. Or rather its inhabitants for it now housed one boy and his thirty-two companions. Not pets. _Companions, _friends even if you could call them that.

_"I will go down now, behave yoursselvess and do not draw attention" _Harry hissed softly at the various coloured snakes slithering around him, fondly curling themselves around his legs.

_"Ssshow them your power, ssspeakerboy, and make alliesss. Be asss cunning assss you can be to achieve greatnesss," _one of the newer snakes said as he curled himself around Harry's hand.

Harry just nodded and smiled politely before gently placing the snakes back on the floor, watching them all slither back under it with hisses of goodbye.

He opened the door again, wincing as it screeched again when he did so, and walked down the hallway to the stairs. As he climbed down the staircase he couldn't help but try to think of just what he could do with magic. To him, the possibilities were as endless as the universe and he grinned again, eyes lighting up with a thirst to _know_.

As he entered the main floor some of the patrons looked up at him, their eyes flickering to his hat before back to their table. Harry grinned, the hat was in place and worked. He then made his way over to where Tom was still cleaning glasses, looking as ugly as ever.

"Harry, have ye settl'd in?" he rasped as he grinned his nearly toothless smile again, a rather disturbing image.

Harry just nodded as he eyed the stick lying innocently on the counter, capable of endless things yet just that, a stick.

Tom noticed him eyeing his wand and quickly put it back in the pocket of his trousers, slightly wary that the child would make a grab for it.

"Ye don't have a wand now, do ya?"

"No, how do I get one?" Harry asked as he frowned, not having missed Tom putting his wand back.

"I'll show ye the passage to the Alley, can't go with ya though, gotta do that on yer own," Tom answered with a lightly sad expression of his face as he shuffled away from behind the counter.

"I think I will be fine," Harry sighed as he followed the tiny hunchbacked man to a door, which led to .. a wall.

Harry was slightly annoyed by this, the entryway to the place where magic ruled was a deathly common wall? How sad, it would look better if it had arches, or at least _something _out of the ordinary. Ah well, you can't have everything.

Tom tapped the bricks necessary to open the gate, as bricks disappeared leaving a gateway to a seemingly busy street with people walking around.

"Ye gotta go ta Gringotts first, can't miss 't, it's the big marble building, ye can buy yer school supplies now as well if ye want."

With that Tom walked away after patting Harry on the shoulder and rasping a "Good luck lad."

Harry walked through the gateway and struggled to keep himself from openly gawking, knowing it to attract unwanted attention and give the impression that he was some sort of bumbling idiot. He did stare however, frowning at some things and grinning at others. He saw bookstores, shops with various sorts of plants and even one with _owls _staring back at him with nearly unmoving eyes. He followed the cobblestone path until he did see the marble building.

It was a high building, completely made out of the white stone Harry recognised as marble. A staircase made out of marble led to a high door made entirely out of bronze. This, Harry decided, was more like how a building should look. Next to the door stood two tiny men, dwarves or something, with an axe in their hands. As they saw Harry they merely glared at him.

Harry then pushed open the doors, marvelling on how easily that went as he expected them to be quite hard to open. Inside he was greeted by a small hall, the floor consisting entirely of black marble and high silver doors greeted him. On those doors was written:

_"Enter, stranger, but take heed_

_Of what awaits the sin of greed_

_For those who take, but do not earn,_

_Must pay most dearly in their turn._

_So if you seek beneath our floors_

_A treasure that was never yours,_

_Thief, you have been warned, beware_

_Of finding more than treasure there."_

Harry couldn't help but grin as he read the warning, it seemed that these dwarf-like guys knew what they were doing.

He pushed open the silver doors and was instantly greeted by a cold, marble hallway that seemed to go on for ages. Rows of desks and tiny-men-that-resembled-dwarves sat behind them, all of them writing furiously with feathers on paper.

Harry immediately went to the one closest to the door, not feeling like walking down the whole hall without directions or a purpose.

"Excuse me sir, may I ask you some questions?"

The dwarf-like man had white hair, a pointy nose and slanted brown eyes that glared at Harry from behind glasses.

"You may," he sneered as he laid down his feather and folded his arms, showing long fingers.

"My name is Harry Potter, I am not sure if I have an account here but if I do I would like to withdraw money and, if possible, get a list of its contents," Harry said confidently as he stared impassively back at the dwarf, not in the least scared by its glare. He had endured the Dursleys for ten years, he could endure this.

"A second," the dwarf barked as he snapped his fingers, causing a book to appear. Harry mentally noted that the Dwarf did not use a wand and promised himself to purchase some more books than his list told him to, wanting to learn that trick.

"Polder, Pommer, Ponders, ah _Potter_," the dwarf sneered as he glared at Harry once more "You have a main family vault and a trust vault, I take it you have the key for the last one?"

"Key?" Harry asked before shaking his head, "I don't have a key."

The dwarf's glare only intensified as it sighed before snapping his fingers again, causing a different, heavier book to appear. He swiftly went through the pages before stopping somewhere in the middle.

"For a compensation of five galleons and two sickles Gringotts will summon your key, if we are unable to do so you will still pay the compensation and another twelve galleons and seven knuts as compensation for your _new _key."

"The first thing," Harry said before hastily adding "Please."

"Gringotts and the goblin nation will not be held responsible for any .. _flaws _.. with your key," the dwarf, err- _goblin _said before closing his eyes and snapping his fingers again causing a tiny bronze key to appear.

"Your key, I will now send another goblin to bring you to your vault where you will pay us the money and we will present you with a list of your holdings. If you are not who you claim to be the wards in the vault will prevent you from exiting and burn you when you touch the money, for this Gringotts is not responsible either. Have a good day."

Harry was then whisked away by another goblin as the tiny man nearly dragged him across the smooth marble floor to a door which led to a cart. They entered and Harry found himself speeding across rails at a terrifying speed, not that he minded though. He was thinking of the possibilities of not needing a wand like Tom did, merely snapping his fingers sounded good.

"Vault 687," the goblin barked as he climbed out of the cart "Potter trust vault, insert the key please."

Harry did so, staring at the giant doors in wonder of what lay behind them, as they opened Harry was momentarily blinded by the mountains of gold that lay behind.

"Excuse me, sir," Harry said, having forgotten the goblin's name, "I have two questions, is this all mine?"

The goblin nodded curtly as he shoved Harry inside the vault.

"And the second," Harry said, turning around to face the goblin once more "You wouldn't mind to have some sort of bag to keep this in do you? It would be inconvenient to walk with your arms full of these err .. coins."

"Compensation for key first," the goblin barked as he pointed at the money "Five galleons, the gold _coins _and two sickles, the silver _coins, _and then another three galleons for the bag."

Harry obediently picked up the slightly heavy coins, his thin arms shaking a bit under their weight, and was glad not to be burned. The goblin looked disappointed, he obviously was looking forward to seeing Harry in pain.

Harry then handed the goblin the coins, which he vanished again with a snap of his long fingers, and the goblin handed him a tiny brown sack. It smelled weird and looked tiny, but Harry grabbed it anyway.

He could feel the goblin's glare against his back as he started placing the coins in the bag, surprised when the big didn't stretch or get any heavier. So he threw in more, and more. In the end, about fifteen minutes later, he had one still featherweight bag in the pocket of his trousers, one annoyed goblin guide and a list of what he had in his vault.

Which was a lot, according to the list he had over 5.385.234 galleons, 56.783 sickles and 102.321 knuts. He didn't even bother calculation how much pounds it would be, he was rich. Which was a good thing for his plans for revenge, so he added 'Humiliation by flaunting money' to his steadily growing mental list. The fact that his trust vault had an exact amount of 450.000 galleons and that he was not allowed the use of the main vault until reaching the age of 17 didn't really bother him.

He exited the bank later after learning he owned two mansions and one cottage, which saved him the effort of _ever _going back to the Dursleys. And with another of their money-pouches for everyday use in his other pocket, for the stuff he was planning to buy.

Harry's first stop wasn't the wand-shop, no, it was the bookstore. Because Harry knew the saying, _'Power corrupts. Knowledge is power. Study hard. Be evil' _and he intended to follow its advice, as knowledge and power were both very high on his to-achieve list.

The bookstore was relatively empty except for a fuzzy brown-haired girl and a stiff looking woman beside her talking animatedly about one thing or another in front of one of the shelves. Harry moved with efficiency, placing every book he liked in a cauldron they had stacked next to the entrance. He was also pleased to feel that they too had some spell causing them to weigh nearly nothing as books stacked up on one another. He even placed_ 'Untraceable ways to harm ones enemy' _by Arcturus Black on top of a book about runes. In the end he had one very surprised clerk and about twenty-three books on different subjects, ranging from magical etiquette to duelling.

After this Harry decided to go after the power part, seeing how the part about knowledge was fulfilled. He had to search around for a while before he found the shop called Ollivander's again.

"Hello," he called after entering the slightly dusty shop, boxes stacked upon each other ranging from floor to the ceiling and wands lying on the counter.

"Ah, mister Potter, I expected you, come on in," came a voice from behind the counter as an old man with messy white hair came from beneath it, boxes in his hands.

"How did you know who I am?" Harry demanded as he glanced at his hat, still covering his scar.

"You have your mother's eyes, they gave you away," Ollivander answered vaguely, not intent on telling the boy the _real _reason he knew it was him.

"Oh, well. Hello to you too. I am here for a wand," Harry said after a moments pause.

"Ah, yes, yes I remember your parents' wands, your father had a-"

"I'm not here to hear about their wands, I would like one of my own please," Harry said sharply, staring at the man with annoyance.

"How eager the youth is these days," the older wizard mumbled as he fumbled around with boxes before coming up with a short, dark wooden wand which he held out to Harry, "Pick it up with your wand arm, the one you write with."

Harry picked up the wand with a look of curiosity on his face as the man started a rather boring speech about his wands, "This one is a twelve inch oak with-"

"Yes, very interesting indeed. Now what do I do?" Harry demanded impatiently as he stared Ollivander right in the eye.

"Just flick it once," the old wizard sighed.

Harry did just so and the windows in the shop broke and several of the stacks of boxes went flying, Harry just smiled broadly as his eyes lit up with excitement.

"I'll take it," he said as his hand went for the bag containing his money.

"No!" Ollivander screeched as his hand shot forwards to snatch the wand from Harry's grasp, "It isn't right for you!"

"Why not? It worked, I blew up the windows which, if I recall correctly, is _magic_. So it is just fine for me," Harry sneered as he glared at the wizard who _dared _to try to take away his stick of mass destruction.

"It didn't react the way it was supposed to!" Ollivander nearly yelled as he tried to grab the wand again, he had remembered Dumbledore's words about the boy and _had _to sell him the right wand, the one with which he would show the world he truly was the hero of the light.

"What do you want it to do? Sprout out a sign saying 'I'm the one, pick me!' If you want me to blow up something again I will gladly do so again," Harry said as he flicked the wand again with a happy grin, sending another row of boxes crashing against the wall.

"No! No! No!" Olivander screeched as he grabbed his own wand to repair the damage done to his shop before _finally _grabbing the wand from Harry's grasp.

In the end Harry ended up saying "Is this what it was supposed to do?" after every reaction, blowing up the windows five more time and damaging all the furniture in his shop multiple times as well. He eventually did walk out of the shop with his new wand, a 11-inch holly and phoenix feather combination. The old wandmaker was about to tell him about how peculiar it was for him to get this particular wand but the boy had already left, having placed 12 galleons on his counter. Ollivander found himself not caring, the boy paid five galleons too much in the end. He was a bit curious as to why the boy wasn't as Dumbledore predicted him to be, he said he would be shy and sweet, every bit the humble hero he wanted him to be. And this boy was anything but.

Power corrupts. Knowledge is power. Study hard. Be evil, Harry repeated in his mind as he pocketed his wand and tried to find the way back to the Leaky Cauldron, intent on proving just how true that saying was going to be.

* * *

><p><strong>AN.**

**First of all, thank you for the massive amount of favorites, author alerts, story alerts and the (one) review.**  
><strong>I was completely blown away by that, I certainly did not expect such a reaction to my little idea here, so as a thank-you I spend the whole day writing instead of .. well .. other things.<strong>  
><strong>I also hope you will all react as well to this second chapter as you did to the first, seeing how my Harry is quite a bit different from the ones in the book. He has a lot to learn, such as keeping calm and acting nice as well as the simple things, such as magic.<strong>

**Anyway, thank you for reading, adding me to your favourites and/or subscription list and basically taking the time for my story.**

**I'm not sure how reactions will be to this chapter, but if it gains me as much hits and alerts as the first one you can expect a chapter 3 around Sunday, because I do have a life somewhere.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Chapter three**

Harry returned to the Leaky Cauldron without much trouble, he stopped to stare at a shop selling brooms and shook his head at the fact that storybooks at least had one thing right. Wizards and witches did indeed fly on brooms.

He found that he didn't have to tap the stones like Tom the bartender did as it opened when he arrived, maybe it was a precaution or maybe the stones were given spells to open them whenever someone approached from the other side. Harry didn't waste any time rushing up the stairs to empty his book-bag onto the desk before rushing back down with his wand in his hand as he stopped in front of Tom.

The old man was about to say something but Harry was faster.

"Teach me now," he demanded as he showed him his wand "I have a wand, so you have no excuse _not _to teach me."

"Hold yer horses lad, I ain't sure if the Min'stry approves 'f me teachin' youngsters like ye, but what the Min'stry doesn't know doesn't hurt now does 't?" Tom said as he grinned at the boy with approval.

Harry nodded, eyes sparkling with determination as he polished his wand with his sleeve, eager to do some magic.

"M'kay lad, watch meh," Tom said as he conjured a chair for the boy to sit on before grabbing one of the plates out of one of the many drawers.

The bald man then flicked his wand and the empty plate turned into a bowl.

"It ain't as easy as ole McGonagall does 't, she lets ya change needles 'n matchsticks and stuff, but this ought to keep ye busy fer some time."

Harry looked at the bowl, it had the same colour and texture as the plate had except for the fact that it was now a bowl.

"Ye dun' need speels fer transfiguration mostly, it c'n help but doin' it silent will help ye in the long run," Tom explained as he watched the boy closely, "Ye just got ta _see _the result, that should do the trick."

Harry stared at the bowl for a few minutes before imagining the same plate as before and flicked his wand like Tom did, to his annoyance nothing happened.

Tom saw the anger on the boy's face after his failed attempt but remained silent, thinking it would take him at least a few hours to get it right.

Harry nearly hissed out loud in snakespeak as the bowl mocked him, unwilling to change back into a plate. He then banished every other thought and only saw the simple plate in his mind, he flicked his wand again with desperation. This time it worked, the bowl changing back into the plate it had been before.

Tom was gobsmacked, seeing an eleven year old boy successfully transfiguring something on his second try. He himself took great pride in being a good potioneer and even better at charms and transfiguration but even he couldn't do that at the boy's age. Then, slowly, a plan began to unravel in the old man's mind. He had been a Slytherin when he went to Hogwarts, many, many years go and one never stops being a Slytherin. Where Gryffindors drift away over the years Slytherin sticks together, they have yearly get-togethers and never betray one another. Snakes stick together, even after Hogwarts, and Tom knew a boy with ambition and a magical skill like Harry could make a great asset to Slytherin. No, he _will _make a great asset to Slytherin.

And so he carefully asked, "Harry, do ye know anything 'bout the houses they've got 't Hogwarts?" fully expecting the boy to shake his head but to his surprise he nodded.

"According to some .. _friends_, they have a house called Slytherin."

"Yeah, that 'ne is for the resourceful, the cunning 'nd the ambitious. 'T is by far the best 'n I tell ye, been there myself. Ravenclaw fer the smart, 's okay and Hufflepuff's for the loyal and outcast and Gryffindor fer the reckless, stupid and annoying, ye shouldn't get in the last two," Tom told him earnestly, trying to convince the boy.

"Don't worry, I have no plans to get in any of those other houses, Ravenclaw sounds decent but the stories my friends told me about Slytherin have already convinced me of its superiority," Harry said calmly with a polite smile, happy to hear that Tom was a Slytherin too.

"Good, Slytherin is the path ta greatness, 'lmost every minister 'n department head came from there," Tom said while grinning.

"Now, can you teach me more?" Harry asked as he watched the plate-turned-bowl-turned-plate-again with boredom.

Tom just nodded and grinned his nearly toothless smile again, something that still disturbed Harry.

The remainder of the summer flew by smoothly, Tom and Harry came to a suitable agreement in regards to magic and work. Harry would clean some rooms or help Tom with serving and Tom would teach Harry a spell the boy chose himself. Though the barkeeper refused some of the.. _darker _spells Harry picked up from one of the many books he had. He also bought one extra book every day, intent on learning as much as he could, and read two to three books a day.

Some books provided useful information, ranging from hexes to how to smile when in the company of someone you dislike. Harry absorbed it all like a sponge, using some of the regular customers to quiz him on the various subjects he learned while at the same time gaining contacts. He met quite a lot of different ones really, and thankfully no-one saw his scar thanks to the hat he wore every day.

Harry found himself to be quite gifted at magic, doing spells easily within a few moments of practise. He especially liked charms, the books were interesting and with the right charm he could do _anything _he wanted, which pleased him quite a lot. He started with simple ones, levitating tiny things but after practice he could levitate a pot of soup without spilling any of the hot broth on the customers, or worse, himself.

The snakes were enthusiastic, encouraging him the moment he entered the room and hissing compliments whenever he did something right. It was oddly comforting to come back to them after a day filled with magic, he found himself more at ease with them than with most humans on the floors below him. He also found himself speaking more English in those few weeks at the Leaky Cauldron than he did in his entire life at Privet Drive, he sometimes threatened to slip back into _parsletongue _as he found out is what wizards called _snakespeak_but he managed.

He bought the rest of his school supplies on different days, taking the time to question the vender on what would be the most useful for him. So he bought a self-stirring cauldron, grammar-checking and dictation-quills along with a big stack of normal paper, Harry found the parchment they sold there to be inefficient and preferred normal paper.

He also bought a snowy white owl which he named Hedwig, after Hedwig The Silent, a witch that defeated all of her opponents without ever saying a spell out loud. Hedwig proved to be a valuable companion, not only did she take care of his mail she also caught vermin and gave those she did not eat to Harry's snakes. Something they were very glad with.

After Hedwig Harry went in search for quality robes, something the book on wizarding etiquette put much emphasis on as it was vital for making a good first impression. He had a nice chat with a pale-blonde boy with cold blue eyes that seemed to live and breathe Slytherin, they talked for a while and promised to meet up on Kings Cross on the eleventh of September. Harry exited the shop with an armful of high-quality silk robes and an order for more.

The summer ended much too soon for Harry's comfort, he was well prepared for his time at school of course, but he did not feel like parting with some of the snakes that had been with him for most of his life. So he bought a trunk, one with locks that only opened for the owner and would stun anyone else touching them. According to the shop owner it had seven hidden compartments and is charmed to be bigger on the inside than it was on the outside. It was pricey, but worth the money if it would mean it could take all Harry's comrades with him.

On the first of September Harry was pacing through his room, his trunk had been packed for days and the snakes were safely in one of the compartments. Hedwig was in her cage and Harry had his wand in his hand so he basically was ready to go. He felt weird being this nervous and tried to appear calm and collected as he walked down the stairs, Hedwig's cage and his trunk floating behind him as he had cast Wingardium Leviosa on them.

"Ah Harry," Tom greeted as he saw Harry entering the room which was empty of customers, "Readeh to go, got yer stuff 'n all?"

Harry nodded as he levitated his trunk and the cage containing Hedwig to the ground, which they hit with a soft thud, careful not to shake Hedwig or his snakes too much.

"Good, good, new remember what I've said 'bout floo," at Harry's nod the man grinned and grabbed Harry's luggage, "Lemme take these fer ya, now go on lad."

Harry walked to the fireplace with its green flames as he picked up a hand of floo powder from a basket standing next to it, he threw it in the flames as he walked inside and stated "Kings Cross station," before disappearing in a whirl of green flames.

Harry held on to his hat as he flew past fireplaces, catching snippets of conversations as they passed them before rudely being thrown out of the floo connection into a tiny building on platform 9 3/4. He gripped his hat even tighter as he tumbled out of the flames, trying to regain his composure. A few seconds later Tom appeared, his trunk and Hedwig's cage in his hands as he too walked out of the fireplace connecting the platform to the floo network.

"I ain't stayin' here fer long, find yerself a compartment and write meh when ye've been sorted, I only expect Slytherin. Write me 'f ye get 'n Hufflepuff or Gryffindor too, I'll pull some strings ta get ye into Durmstrang or sumthing," with that the hunchbacked man smiled his slightly disturbing smile again before disappearing in the flames again, yelling "The Leaky Cauldron," as he went.

Harry had some trouble getting through the huge mass of parents and children on the platform, all of them hugging and being sentimental.

_"Sssstupid, they sssshould be glad for their children to go and learn inssstead of moping that they will leave home,"_Harry hissed softly, his use of parsletongue going unheard amongst the sound of the train and other conversations going on around him.

He gave his trunk a jerk and ignored an indignant squeak of "Hey, bloody hell, watch out!" from some lanky red-head with a smudge on his nose. Harry just shot a glare at the boy before ignoring him, making his way to the train without further incidents before lifting his trunk on first and Hedwig's cage next.

He looked at the platform for a second, trying to find the blonde boy whom he was supposed to meet but didn't see him. He didn't really care though, so he grabbed his stuff and carried them into one of the empty compartments at the back of the train.

He opened his trunk for a second, letting fresh air into the spacious room inside so the snakes wouldn't choke and he quickly hissed _"I am on the train, we ssshal leave sssoon, sssoo ssstay sssilent."_

Harry also grabbed two books out of the trunk, _Transfiguration through the ages _and _Runes for everyday use_. He started reading straight away, not caring when the train left the platform. He didn't look up either when the doors slid open and closed as a person entered, dropping his own trunk with a louder thud.

"Everything else is full," a nasal voice whined "Can I sit here?"

"Be my guest," Harry said in a bored voice as he turned the page, reading about runes causing objects to become invisible when given a verbal command.

"Thanks mate," the person said, it probably was a boy, "I heard Harry Potter is on this train, you know where he is? I _really have _to meet him."

"No," Harry stated, annoyance in his voice.

"Oh," the boy said, "I'm Ron Weasley, what's your name?"

Harry grinned a slightly evil grin as he grabbed the oppurtinity "Chris Dorsel, nice to make your acquaintance."

"What'cha reading?" Ron asked, seemingly unable to shut up for any period of time.

"Runes and their use in everyday life," Harry said as he shot the boy a glare from behind his book, seeing the same red-haired boy whom he hit with his trunk on the platform.

"Oh, cool," Ron said, slightly put off by his response.

"Yes very," Harry stated dryly as his eyes continued to scan the page in front of him, intrigued by the use of the rune _scrawlgh _when combined with _akh_.

"So, err," Ron mumbled as he wiped his sleeve across his nose in an unsuccessful attempt to wipe away the dirt on it "You like Quidditch?"

Harry took a moment to look the taller boy in the eyes, trying to convey how annoyed he was in one look as he sighed before answering the boy's insignificant question "No, it is a waste of time and recourses that could be put to better use. Also, the rate of injuries is _sky-high_, pun intended."

Harry let all of his hard-earned politeness he had taught himself in those weeks with Tom at the Leaky Cauldron slowly drip away as he became increasingly more annoyed with the redhead.

"But .. but," the boy spluttered as he stared at Harry, his face pale "H-how can you say that?"

"By using the vocal cords I was blessed with," Harry said sharply, his eyes not leaving the page he reading.

"Vortal chorts? Are they some muggle invention? My dad collects batteries or something and-"

"Vocal cords," Harry repeated slowly as if talking to a baby, or Dudley, "And do I look as if I care what your father collects?"

"My dad is really nice and-" Ron protested as his voice increased in volume.

"I. Don't. Care. Now cease your stupid blabbering and let me read," Harry snapped.

As if by miracle the redhead remained silent for the remained of the trip, only muttering a "Already got lunch," when an old lady with a cart asked if any of the boys wanted some. Harry politely refused, smiling sweetly at the lady earning him a wink in return.

A girl with fuzzy brown hair, the one Harry had seen in the bookstore some weeks ago, eventually came in and asked if they had seen a toad because some kid named Neville lost one. Harry shook his head as the girl continued to chatter a mile a minute, not noticing neither boys were really listening, until she announced that they would arrive at Hogwarts in a few minutes, which meant they had to change into their school robes.

Harry did so after ushering Ron outside, basically telling him it was rude to undress in the presence of another as he didn't want the redhead to see his scar, because changing into his robes meant putting his hat off.

To keep up appearances he let Ron change in the compartment alone as well, waiting outside until the other boy told him it was fine to come back in again.

Fifteen minutes later the train pulled in the station near Hogwarts as everyone exited. They were ushered into boats by a giant man bellowing "First years over here!" making it nearly impossible for them _not _to see him. Harry made a point by not sitting in a boat with Ron Weasley, sitting with two regal-looking other people instead. One a dark-skinned boy with short, curly black hair and light eyes and the other a pale girl with a tight, neatly done bun of brown hair and grey eyes. Both nodded to Harry as he entered their boat and Harry nodded back, happy to find himself in better company than that of Ron.

The boats floated slowly across the nearly ink-black water as they came around a bent Harry got his fist view of Hogwarts. It was magnificent, even more so than the Gringotts bank, and looked every bit the magical castle he expected it to be in his mind.

After five more minutes they got to land, the giant man having found that Neville-boy's toad just before, and they were ushered inside. Some stern woman gave a speech about good manners and Harry drifted off, watching the hallway they were in instead. Somewhere during the woman's speech some ghost floated through the walls, Harry watched it with cool indifference as he started recalling facts about ghosts that he had read about in one of his many books.

Then, in a neat row, they entered a great hall. Aptly named, The Great Hall. Four rows of tables were inside of it, candles floating above the tables and banners proclaiming the four houses of Hogwarts on the walls behind a table housing what probably were the professors.

Just in front of that one table stood a single chair, the stern-looking woman that gave the speech standing beside it with a list in one hand and the hat in her other. Then, the hat started singing, of all things.

_"Oh you may not think I'm pretty,  
>But don't judge on what you see,<br>I'll eat myself if you can find  
>A smarter hat than me.<em>

_You can keep your bowlers black,_  
><em>Your top hats sleek and tall,<em>  
><em>For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat<em>  
><em>And I can cap them all.<em>

_There's nothing hidden in your head_  
><em>The Sorting Hat can't see,<em>  
><em>So try me on and I will tell you<em>  
><em>Where you ought to be.<em>

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_  
><em>Where dwell the brave at heart,<em>  
><em>Their daring, nerve, and chivalry<em>  
><em>Set Gryffindors apart;<em>

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_  
><em>Where they are just and loyal,<em>  
><em>Those patient Hufflepuffs are true<em>  
><em>And unafraid of toil;<em>

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_  
><em>if you've a ready mind,<em>  
><em>Where those of wit and learning,<em>  
><em>Will always find their kind;<em>

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_  
><em>You'll make your real friends,<em>  
><em>Those cunning folks use any means<em>  
><em>To achieve their ends.<em>

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_  
><em>And don't get in a flap!<em>  
><em>You're in safe hands (though I have none)<em>  
><em>For I'm a Thinking Cap!"<em>

"Abbot Hannah," the woman said after the hat went silent again. a girl with blonde pigtails walked forward before sitting on the chair. The woman, probably a professor too Harry thought, placed the hat on her head. After a few seconds it screamed "Hufflepuff!"

More and more were sorted until the professor called out Harry's name "Potter, Harry"

Harry calmly walked towards the chair as the hall went completely silent before whispering was heard, mostly about whether or not the professor really said Harry Potter and if he had a scar or not. Also some wondered about his hat, which Harry put off as he sat down.

The whispers died down as the hat fell in front of Harry's eyes.

'Ooh, a difficult one,' a voice said in Harry's _head_.

'Get. Out. Of. My. Head,' Harry spat mentally as he closed his eyes, willing the voice to go away.

'Easy now, I never tell others what I find in someone's head so your secrets are safe,' the voice shushed as Harry realised it was the hat talking to him.

'Now, on with the sorting, I see some courage, loyalty to those that earn it and .. oh dear .. plenty of ambition and a great thirst for knowledge.'

'If you sort me into Gryffindor or Hufflepuff I will burn you,' Harry stated calmly as he remember the incantation for the burning spell.

The voice seemed to ignore him as it continued to mumble, 'A great deal of cunning and a great mind, a difficult one you are but I have made up my mind, better be ...'

* * *

><p><strong>AN.**

**First of all, another thanks for the great amount of favourites, alerts and reads. You once again really made me happy, so thank you.  
>Another chapter, because I had nothing to do. Don't expect another one today, I exhausted my brain by writing this.<br>I hope this one once again meets your expectations and that you all will continue to read it. Also, any of you wondering why I skipped the whole Leaky-Cauldron summer stuff, I could write about twenty chapters with Harry learning, cleaning, reading and speaking with his scaly friends. But I won't, so I summarised it because my main focus is his time at hogwarts and how he will react to learning that good-ole-Dumbledore placed him with the Dursleys, thus ruining his childhood.**

**Anyway, a major thanks to the two people that reviewed chapter two yesterday. I certainly hope more will follow, any other alers, favourites or just reading this is appreciated too.**

**So, thank you all for taking the time to read my humble story.**

**Next update around Sun/Monday.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

**Note: This is where I will majorly stray away from canon, I won't make Ron grow a brain, or have Draco sprouting lovesongs but things are slightly (or majorly, whatever you as reader think aplies) different.**

**Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter four<strong>

"Slytherin!" the hat's voice bellowed as the hall went quiet in seconds. Harry placed the hat off his head himself as the woman beside him was too shocked to even move before making his way to the Slytherin table. People there had risen up from their seats as they always did, everyone standing and clapping politely, not happy, just politely, before sitting down when Harry joined them.

That's when the whispers started, all other three houses started whispering at the same time. Ravenclaw discussed the chance of him getting into Slytherin instead of Gryffindor, something Harry couldn't get, why would he _ever _want to be in a house renowned for its recklessness? You would be lucky to pass the age of 30 when you were a Gryffindor, somehow they all seemed to die prematurely, notable exceptions being Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody both of whom he'd read about in _Notable 20__th__ century witches and wizards_. Harry was pleasantly surprised to find himself in that list at place 6, a number he definitely wished to change.

The first of the two was currently staring at Harry with a grim look, eyes cold as he peered at the boy from over his huge nose. A tiny piece of him seemed _scared, _as if Harry looked like someone else at that moment. Another teacher was staring at Harry with genuine surprise and a flicker of dislike, something Harry recognised easily after his dear relatives, before looking away.

The Hufflepuffs were scared mainly, their whispers were the ones in high, squeaky voices as they whispered how he killed you-know-who and was 'like, totally powerful' and now in the _evil _house of Slytherin.

The Gryffindors had the obnoxiously loud whispers, all of them about how _Potter _would be the next dark lord, why he was wearing a hat and that the Sorting Hat was all wrong.

Harry remained silent as he placed his own hat on his head again, having grown accustomed to the thing over time, and remained silent as he too stood up and clapped when Malfoy, Draco was sorted into Slytherin, followed by Zabini, Blaise whom Harry recognised to be the dark-skinned boy he sat with in the boat.

"So, Harry Potter eh?" Blaise Zabini said as he looked at Harry with boredom, "How is that working out for you?"

"Just fine, thank you," Harry responded noncommittal as he stared at his empty plate, "So, Italian eh?"

"Yes, lovely weather there," Blaise replied equally vague.

"Nice to hear."

"Yes indeed."

Silence followed as a man with half-moon glasses stepped up a raised part just in front of the table and started speaking.

"Welcome!" he said. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!

"Thank you!"

Some people clapped awkwardly as the man Harry recognised as Dumbledore, the headmaster, sat down again.

"He truly is a crazy old man isn't he," Draco Malfoy spoke from Harry's left as he turned towards him, "Father never liked him, he says the old coot is going senile and wasting the school."

Then his eyes fell on Harry's hat and the pale-blonde boy smiled, "Ah, so _you _were the one I met at Madame Malkins, pity I never saw you at Kings Cross, well I suppose we will be seeing one another a lot for the next seven years," the boy held out a hand for Harry to shake, and recognising the gesture from his book on etiquette, he took it. If he didn't it would be considered an insult, refusing someone's hand has been the cause of many a duel.

"Malfoy, Draco Malfoy," Draco said amiably as he shook Harry's hand.

"Potter, Harry Potter," Harry replied in an even tone as he smiled lightly before letting go of Draco's hand, "I take it you know the ins and outs of this place?"

"Of course, it is what is expected of me," Draco responded.

"Than this is the start of a wonderful partnership."

"Indeed," Draco stated dryly as he picked up a spoon and started placing several potatoes on his plate, making Harry notice the food that just appeared in the bowls situated on the middle of the table.

Harry breathed in heavily through his nose, smelling the heavenly smells of the food before him before looking around him. No-one really paid any attention to him but what he saw on the table of his new housemates differed quite a lot from what he saw on the other tables.

The Slytherins daintily ate their food, never talking while eating or doing _anything _that could be considered rude. Even two guerrilla-like boys that could be twins and looked like they had less brains than an ostrich had some sort of table manners.

The Ravenclaws ate relatively neat, they all used their knife and fork and looked every bit the big bunch of scholars they were.

The Hufflepuffs were worse, a big-boned girl ate with her _fingers _and another boy talked with his mouth open.

And then the _Gryffindors, _Harry found himself overflowing with disgust. They ate like the lions they were supposed to represent, tearing the meat from its bone and fighting to get the best parts. Some did eat with manners, the bushy haired girl and a redhead with glasses and a stern look, but most of them didn't. Harry wasn't surprised when he saw Ron-the-redhead having the worst table manners of them all.

As dessert came Harry was full, having eaten more than enough. His rather thin body had gained more meat in the weeks with Tom but he found himself unable to eat too much at once, another parting gift of the Dursleys.

After everyone was finished eating, the Gryffindors being the last to finish, the headmaster stood up again and droned something about a forbidden forest being forbidden, which wasn't that hard to guess, and should they not wish to die they should not enter some corridor. Harry didn't really pay attention.

And then, to Harry's absolute horror, Dumbledore announced they had to sing a _song_. This did not earn the headmaster any points in Harry's eyes.

"Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,

Teach us something please,

Whether we be old and bald,

Or young with scabby knees,

Our heads could do with filling,

With some interesting stuff,

For now they're bare and full of air,

Dead flies and bits of fluff,

So teach us things worth knowing,

Bring back what we've forgot,

Just do your best, we'll do the rest,

And learn until our brains all rot."

After the song finally ended, two identical redheads singing it at a terribly slow pace, the headmaster bid them all a good night.

Then, the greasy-haired professor with his rather malformed nose walked from the table of the professors over to that of the Slytherins as he stopped at the head of the table.

"We will now depart to our common room in the dungeons. First years will follow directly behind me, second to seventh fall behind. I expect no shameful behaviour on our way out or you will be given the honour of detention on your fist day," the professor sneered at them as he shot a glare at the table before briskly walking away, robes billowing behind him as his steps echoed in the hall.

"Onwards first-years," a heavy boy said as he pushed one of the guerrilla-twins from his seat, "Or professor Snape'll give you all detention."

Harry hurriedly left his seat after seeing the others do the same, Blaise and Daphne walked next to each other and Draco was whisked away by a dark-haired girl named after a flower or something and Harry walked next to someone named Theodore who proved himself to be the _perfect _person to walk next to. Because he didn't speak, at all. Harry didn't know if it was because he couldn't speak or just chose not to, anyway he liked the silence.

Behind him walked he guerrilla-twins and behind them a girl that had a square body with the face of a pug, Harry made a mental note not to anger her, and next to her a tiny blonde girl with a bored look in her eyes.

Harry could see people turning in their seats to get a look at the long line of Slytherins departing through the door, probably to get a look at the Boy-Who-Lived or whatever Harry was called in the various books describing his parent's heroic sacrifice and how Harry, only one at the time, single-handedly killed He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, also known as Voldemort to those that are not pathetic cry-babies that think saying his name will kill you, or worse, reviving him.

Harry paid little attention to the castle, knowing he had seven years left to do so and did not wish to disorient himself by training to remember it all in one go. He chose to observe the others instead, making mental notes in the back of his head about people, how they walked, what they looked like. To any other it might seem useless to do so, a sign of some personality disorder but to Harry it was vital. Right now he was on the bottom of the food chain, a tiny snake in a world of lions, ravens and badgers. He needed time to assemble his venom, to build his defences, and knowing your allies was the first step. Tom had told him of the ridiculous jealousy-based prejudice against the house of Slytherin, people assuming the worst and friendships torn apart because of one friend being sorted into Slytherin.

Harry noticed they had just climbed down a staircase and that the air was more humid and there were no more windows, the only light in the hallway being the flames from various torches hanging from the grey stone walls.

They stopped after a few minutes at a dead-ending hallway, in front of a boring wall that differed nothing from the others.

"Coluber," professor Snape, as Harry heard he was called, said and with a low grumble the wall opened like a door, revealing a hidden room.

Two by two they walked through the wall-turned-door into a magnificent room. It had a low ceiling with one finely-crafter chandelier hanging in the middle of the room, candles burning softly. Torches hung from the walls, green flames casting shadows and bathing the room in a green hue. A the far end stood one fireplace, wood neatly stacked inside of it though it did not burn. Two windows were on opposite sides of the fireplace, _fish _swimming behind them.

They were _under _the castle, Harry thought as one of the fish slammed against the window, right next to, or even _in _the lake. He couldn't help but wonder if the King was somewhere near this room, or maybe even further below.

Then his gaze went back to the room, couches were scattered throughout it, all of them a dark green colour. Some tables and desks were there too, candles on each of them, and Harry was pleased to see that _everything _had snakes on it. The chandelier was decorated by them, they were on the carpet, the ceiling, the windows. _Everywhere_.

"Pity it's so humid here," came the dry voice of Blaise Zabini as the boy looked at the room with a sigh "It _ruins _your skin after a while."

Some snickers were heard before a voice silenced them, "Enough!"

"_I _am professor Snape, your head of house and potions professor and will be addressed as such_, you_ are all members of the most noble house of Slytherin and I will expect a number of things from you," professor Snape said as he looked at the first years with disdain, "I am not your mother or father, your _trivial_problems do not concern me so do not come to me every time such a thing happens."

A dark look was shot at Blaise as the boy in particular just shrugged, obviously not caring.

"You will be escorted by our prefects, Flint and Rosewood, during your fist week because I do not tolerate any member of my house coming to a lesson late. Is that understood?"

Harry nodded and saw the others doing the same thing, everyone except Guerilla one for he was picking his nose, a rather uncomely sight.

"Mister Goyle, your mother may not have cared much for your manners but I do," professor Snape hissed as he stared at the thick-boned boy through strands of his greasy black hair, "I will give lessons on suitable manners every Thursday, those that show things such as slouching, disgusting table manners or being unable to address people with respect will be forced to take these lessons."

A few sighs were heard from the crowd but no one spoke up.

"Anyone gaining marks below an Acceptable will get mandatory tutoring in that subject by either me or a suitable seventh-year. Also, as members of the house of Slytherin you will be disliked, you will be suspected of things you did not do and teachers will give you less points than any of the other houses. You will stick together, any of your stupid fights will be fought _inside _this common room. Do not become a target by isolating yourself from the others, it will not work. I will also say just one more thing: Do. Not. Get. Caught. Ever, I do not care how you interpret this but it should be the only school rule you should follow."

"This house demands a level of finesse, you are not the incompetent buffoons that are the Gryffindors. You will not bring shame to this house nor your own name. You will act as is expected from you and will not disappoint me in that matter. If you feel the inexplicable need to make _friends _with anyone other than a fellow Slytherin I advise you look at the Ravenclaws. Lest you wish to be hexed or cause a Hufflepuff to have an heart attack they are the best choice."

"Any points deducted from you will be run through me, allowing me to see _why _they were deducted. If I find the reason to be one you could have prevented I will assign you a detention. So be on your best behaviour," and then, with a sigh, Snape started the end of his speech.

"Girls dormitories are to the left, boys to the right. First years directly in the front, seventh years at the back. You will have your own room and any _sleepovers _are not allowed. Bathrooms are opposite to your dorms, you will find the rooms are selected alphabetically so you will not choose for yourself. Also, tomorrow you will be woken either by a prefect or you will have the common sense to use an alarm, I expect you all in the common room at seven thirty, washed and dressed. Now, good night."

And with that the professor left them all alone as he left through the gap in the wall as it closed behind him.

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><p><strong>AN.**

**Chapter four, as promised. If anyone expected a Gryffindor!Harry I hope you are not dissapointed, and those expecting Ravenclaw were partially right, I had quite a hard time deciding between the two of them because both Slytherin and Ravenclaw would work for my ultimate goals. Dumbledore is not amused, Harry did not look at Quirrel and everyone else is sorted in their respectives houses.**  
><strong>Also, my Slytherin is slightly more .. united .. than it is in the books, but you'll see.<strong>

**Again, I'm touched by all the support, hits, alerts, favourites, reviews and even being added to three different communties. You guys, the readers, truly rock. So please, continue to enjoy my humble story and I will continue to post my chapters at this speed, even if it gives me a headache sometimes.**

**So thank-you once again, reader, for without you I wouldn't be posting chapters this fast.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

"You heard the professor," a big boy with a mob of dark hair said as he glared at the Slytherins still standing awkwardly in the common room, "Boys with me, girls with Rosewood, march!"

"First years, your doors are here!" he barked as they walked inside a dark hallway with rows of dark doors. The tiny space between the doors held a torch and the wall opposite to them had windows decorated with snakes on them. Tiny fish swam around and Harry swore he could even see a _tentacle _flash by.

Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy, Nott, ah, Potter, Harry noted as he stared at the door. He grabbed the silver doorknob and pushed the door open, pleasantly surprised by how silent that went, and saw a nice room. Bigger than the one he had in the Leaky Cauldron and probably magically expanded, he read about that in _Spells for in and around your house_. It held a single bed with rich green curtains hanging from it and a darker green wallpaper with stylish silver snakes. A dark desk faced the wall with a simple chair with a silver cushion in front of it. His trunk was placed next to a tiny armchair that resembled those in the common room. The room, Harry thought happily, definitely got his approval.

He closed the door behind him before walking swiftly to his trunk and opened it.

_"Hello guysss," _Harry hissed as he allowed the snakes to slither out of the hidden compartment onto his arms, _"How wasss the trip?"_

"Unpleasssant but bearable,"

Assress, one of the older ones, hissed as his yellow eyes stared at Harry while his forked tongue tasted the air.

_"I have been sssorted into Ssslytherin, asss I sssaid," _Harry told them as he allowed them to wrap their selves around his arms and legs, not feeling disturbed in the least.

_"Good," _they hissed as some of them looked at his room.

_"How will we get our food," _one of them asked as he stared at Harry with something akin to worry, _"I do not want that owl'sss leftoversss again."_

_"I can let you out, you will find a sssuitable den and we ssshal ssspeak whenever I can, I cannot keep all of you in here," _Harry hissed as he placed all the snakes on the floor.

He walked towards the door and opened it silently before peering around, not seeing anyone he pushed is open a little further.

_"Go," _He ordered, _"Try to find the King, or jussst a nice place to hide."_

_"I ssshal ssstay," _Shhhtrss hissed as he regarded Harry with a haughty expression, _"Remember to bring me prey or let me out in the night, sssspeaker, you ssshal need my wisssdom."_

Harry let him as he watched the mass of snakes slithering through the hall with an odd feeling of abandonment, they were his comrades. But it had to be done, so he closed the door and changed into his pyjamas before dropping rummaging through his trunk for his alarm. He truly was glad to have listened to Tom when the old barman said that he would need one. He set it and then allowed himself to fall onto the pleasantly soft bed as he fell asleep in less than ten minutes, listening to the sound of the lake from the hallway.

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><p>Harry woke up to the sound of his alarm, a rumbling male voice telling him to get his arse moving or he would be late for whatever he had to, he didn't see Shhhtrss but the snake was probably hiding somewhere under his bed.<p>

He contemplated taking a shower but decided against it, he would do so in the evening, as he dressed himself in his Hogwarts robes. A slightly vain voice in his head told him the Slytherin colours suited him, they went nicely with his green eyes, better than those of the other houses.

As he opened the door and stepped into the hallway again he saw many others doing the same. Blaise Zabini walked out of his door with curlers in his hair as he chatted with Theodore Nott, a rather one sided conversation because Blaise kept complaining about how horrible this humid dungeon was for his skin.

Once they were all assembled in the common room Harry went to sit next to Draco on one of the couches.

"Draco," he said noncommittal as he stared at a wall.

"Harry," Draco responded as he nodded at the black-haired boy.

"Sleep well?"

"Splendidly, you?"

"Yes, me too."

"Good to hear."

"Yes, indeed."

They kept this on for about seven minutes as the entrance to their common room opened and a glaring professor Snape emerged, his robes billowing behind him once again in the imaginary wind. It had to be magic, he probably liked looking like that.

"Mr Goyle!" Snape barked as he started at guerrilla-one with a heated glare, "Where is Mr Crabbe?"

"Dunno," the boy replied lamely as he scratched his head in a rather _monkey_like fashion.

"Excuse me," Snape said as he walked past some of the students towards the hallway with the rooms.

Two minutes later Snape appeared again, in his wake an awake, dressed _and _washed boy that Harry liked to call guerrilla-two.

"Walk," Snape spat at the students as he exited the room again, a long line of Slytherins trailing behind him obediently.

Harry walked next to Theodore this time who actually _spoke_, curtly asking Harry to either call him Theo or refrain from calling him anything at all. Harry just nodded as he continued making one-sided small talk, talking about the boring things the book about etiquette suggested to converse about when walking.

When they entered the Great Hall after a rather short walk Harry saw only a dozen of students already eating breakfast Bushy-haired girl from the bookstore was sitting next to a redhead with glasses, both of them reading a book, and some Ravenclaws and three Hufflepuffs. The Hufflepuffs looked up when they saw the Slytherins enter and their eyes widened as they saw Harry before hastily whispering to each other. The Ravenclaws merely looked for a moment before resuming their breakfast and the two Gryffindors were to engrossed in their books to even acknowledge them.

Breakfast was a quiet ordeal, some higher-years asked Harry if he remembered killing Voldemort, to which he simply said 'No.' and continue eating his toast. The food was good though, and guerrilla-one-and-two baffled him again with their table manners, better than some of the Ravenclaws on the other table, while Snape handed them their schedules.

As he read his schedule he wasn't surprised, he had potions first thing after breakfast he had potions with the Gryffindors, two free periods followed by lunch and afterwards Charms and History Of Magic.

He was surprised though, when Hedwig flew in with a letter, how someone would have used _his _owl to send _him _a letter baffled him, but he untied it and then shoo-ed her away as Blaise started complaining that it was very unhygienic for an owl to stand in your breakfast.

It was a crudely written note with stains and on crumbled paper inviting him for _tea, _signed by a Hagrid.

"Draco," Harry asked as he nudged the blonde boy, " Would you happen to know who _Hagrid _might be?"

"Hagrid?" The boy repeated as he frowned for a few seconds before answering, "Oh yes, _him_, he is a savage halfblood that sets his hut on fire when drunk. Father says he should be locked up but he is the groundkeeper here instead. Why do you ask?"

Harry scowled as he looked at his note with distaste, "He invited me over for tea."

Draco snorted and swiftly tried to cover it with a cough before looking at Harry with pity, "He probably wants you on his side when the board of governors sack him. It's terribly impolite to refuse an invitation though, so you should go but do not accept any of his food or beverages, you never know what he put in them."

"Good to hear," Harry said as a grin appeared on his face, "You should come with me then, for appearances sake and to drag me through the whole ordeal. You are, after all, the expert."

Draco hummed in approval, "Of course I am the expert, I am a Malfoy after all, and- What no!"

"Sorry Draco, but you're going with me," Harry said calmly as he gulped down his milk before looking around, the Great Hall had filled with students while he and Draco had been talking.

"Firsties, breakfast's over, gotta get you all to professor Snape's class now. Come Come, hurry up," Flint said as he rounded the boys together, fellow prefect Alienda Rosewood doing the same with the girls in a snappish tone as they marched out of the Great Hall to get the first years to their class in time before hurrying of to their own.

They were soon joined by the Gryffindors, all of them loud and obnoxious as they gawked at Harry.

"So Potter, how does it feel to betray the light!" redhead-ron said as he pointed an accusing finger at Harry and, by default, Millicent Bulstrode who looked ready to snap the boy in half. Which she probably could.

"Who are you of accusing me of anything?" Harry said as he stared at the boy with nearly unblinking eyes, though that stung a bit, "I have not betrayed this 'light' you speak of, otherwise I would not be standing _here_ but over _there_." Harry drawled as he pointed at a completely dark and conveniently-in-place shadow near a painting of an ugly cat.

"What are you talking about? Not that light! You bloody Slytherin," Ron huffed as he glared at Harry only to suddenly freeze as a familiar voice drifted over.

"Well well, another Weasley I will have the pleasure of teaching. Ten points from Gryffindor for insulting a member of another house."

"Bloody hell! You can't do that!" Ron shouted as he grew as red as his hair, his hands in the air as he glared at professor Snape.

"Another five points for your language Mr Weasley, I suggest you shut your mouth now."

Ron mumbled something, probably an insult, as he and the others followed Snape into the classroom, the Gryffindors sending Ron seething glares for losing so much points already.

Harry paired up with Millicent Bullstrode as Draco went to sit with Theodore and Pansy, the girl with the flower name, sat next to Tracey Davis. Blaise paired with the bushy Gryffindor girl and sent Harry a disgusted look as he pointed at her hair.

Harry just shrugged.

Redhead Ron was personally paired with a Neville-something, toadguy, Harry remembered and then the lesson began.

"You are here to learn the subtle science and exact art of potion-making. As there is little foolish wand-waving here, many of you will hardly believe this is magic. I don't expect you will really understand the beauty of the softly simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes, the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopping death - if you aren't as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach," Snape said as he shot a dark look into the classroom, years of teaching children with the mental capacity of a snail turning his patience into what it was now. Non-existent.

"Longbottom," Snape barked suddenly as a pudgy boy paled, . "What would I get if I added powdered root of aspodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

"Ehh … I don't know?" the boy said weakly as he stared at the ground, the redhead next to him snickering loudly.

"You find that funny, Weasley? Let's try again then, Weasley, where would you look if I told you to find me a bezoar?"

"In a shop?" Ron asked.

"Wrong!" Snape barked as he glared at Ron, who turned red again.

Harry grinned, finding this a very _inspiring _lesson already.

"Okay then, another one. Granger! What is the difference, Granger, between monkswood and wolfsbane?"

The girl nearly shook with glee when she was asked the question, having had her hand in the air for the previous two as she stared at the professor with a wide smile before answering the question.

"Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same, sir, they are known as aconite too," the girl said proudly as she crossed her arms over her chest with a grin on her face.

Snape scowled at the girl, clearly unhappy she managed to give the correct answer, while Ron glared at her, upset _she _knew it and he didn't and got humiliated for it.

"Thank you for being a know-it-all miss Granger," Snape commented as Draco and Pansy snickered before the professor continued.

"For your information, Longbottom, asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of Living Death. Weasley, a bezoar is a stone taken from the stomach of a goat and it will save you from most poisons. As for monkshood and wolfsbane, they are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite, as you said miss Granger."

"Now, why aren't you all writing that down?" Snape barked as his glare intensified before he flicked his wand as a text appeared on the chalkboard.

"Instructions for your potion, you will be making a cure for boils during these two hours. I will oversee it. Now begin!"

With that everyone hurriedly left their seats to grab the necessary ingredients, Harry let Millicent do that as he started the fire below their shared, his, cauldron. And, upon reading the amount of stirring necessary, glad that it was self-stirring.

Harry and Millicent worked together comfortably, Harry doing the dicing and slicing thanks to his years of experience, also known as slavery in some countries, with the Dursleys. Their potion turned the right colour as Snape walked past tables, distracting points and vanishing potions from the Gryffindors while giving Blaise five points for his nearly perfect potion. Which earned him an indignant squeak from the Granger girl as she appeared to be doing the most work while Blaise whined about fumes and their result on his hair.

"Potter," Snape spat as he stared into his cauldron before stalking away, leaving Harry with raised eyebrows.

The lesson continued smoothly until Longbottom and Weasley blew up their cauldron, sending a quarter of the class into the hospital wing with boils, one of these students was the completely freaked out Blaise Zabini. The boy nearly had a heart attack when he saw his reflection, he did however faint.

Harry just concluded that potions was an incredibly useful subject and he got a sadistic grin when he noticed he didn't even have to try for this one. Just messing up a potion had destructive enough results. And, with a mental laugh, he added potions, and _poison _to his list.

Now all he had left to do was visiting the Hagrid person, eat lunch, and learn charms and some history. Easy, Harry thought as he smiled. And so Harry grabbed Draco's arm as he dragged the boy towards the Great Hall, knowing that from there on he could find the grounds, intent on making their visit to Hagrid a very short one. Not knowing what he would learn there.

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><p><strong>AN.**

**Sigh, chapter five, a well-known scene in a well-known potions classroom. Snape doesn't pick on Harry because he is in Slytherin and Slytherins stick together on the outside, he still has no reason to like him though.**

**Charms will be more fun, Harry'll show off his magic a bit, and Hagrid will piss him off (Not the boor guy himself, but what he tells Harry) and poor Draco. Having to go to a 'filthy halfblood' for tea, what would your daddy say? (I can imagine what he would say, it isn't nice)**

**I personally like potions, imagine what you can do with it? Imagining yet? EVERYTHING! Bottle of fame anyone? Living death? Death? It's great, and Harry agrees with me.**

**Anyway, did you know that if I would get just _one _euro for every hit on this story I could go to Paris, New York _and _buy a horse? No? Well, now you do.**

**Once again a major thank-you for reading this, the alerts, the favorites and the reviews. If you keep those coming I will keep writing chapters (Will still write them without, but, just saying).**

**Next chapter either tomorrow or on Thursday.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

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><p><strong>Chapter Six<strong>

"Potter, Potter! Harry, let me go this instant!" Draco demanded as Harry dragged him through the doors of the castle.

"No, you'll visit this Hagrid person with me. If he tries to poison me I'll have a witness for when I sue him," Harry replied seriously, his face a perfect mask of innocence as he glanced at Draco.

"Fine, but if the halfbreed as much as _touches _me with his filthy claws I'll inform my father of it!"

Harry merely sighed as they crossed the grassy hills towards the rundown shack next to a forest, probably the _Forbidden _Forest.

"Yes, yes, now show me your perfect manners and help me survive this … _meeting_," Harry said as they neared the shack, various plants growing up against the wall giving it a distinctive hippie-esque look.

Draco managed to get his arm loose as his face morphed into one of a pleasant young man, complete with a sneer-turned-smile while his eyes displayed his inner disgust as he knocked on the door. Harry had to admit, Draco knew how to follow the rules of etiquette, even though he didn't want to.

"Ah, hullo Harry and .. yer friend, come'n in!" a _huge _man with a wild beard and a dirty coat said as he opened the door, a look of surprise upon seeing Draco standing next to Harry on his face.

"Ah, yes. Hello, I am Draco Malfoy. I thank you for your most kind invitation for tea, though I hope I did not trouble you by coming along," Draco responded happily as he shot the huge man a brilliant smile, the disgust in his eyes visible to Harry.

"Err .. no, no! 'course not, any friend 'f Harry's a friend of mine!" the man responded happily as he clapped Draco on his back, causing the much smaller blonde to visibly look ill for a moment before the smile was back.

"Thank you, come along Harry. We must not disgrace our host by staying outside."

"Ah yes, a _splendid _idea Draco," Harry said as they walked through the door which Hagrid held open for them before settling on two chairs.

Draco followed suit, eyes narrowing at the sight of the messy interior of the room. Cages with various animals hung from the roof and a giant-sized bed was on one side of the room. It seemed as if this Hagrid person lived in one room. How peculiar.

"So Harry, how're yer likin' Hogwarts this far?" Hagrid asked as he set two _giant _cups of steaming tea in front of them.

"Ah thank you, well .. I've only had one lesson so far but it went well," Harry said as he eyes the tea with suspicion after seeing Draco doing the same.

"Good ter hear, how'dyou like yer house, Dumbledore 'n the others all thought you'd sort Gryffindor like yer parents."

"Slytherin suits me just fine," Harry stated with a frown, staring at the man for a second.

"And yer, Draco, yer like it 't school?" Hagrid asked, a forced smile on his face as he included the Mafloy heir in the conversation.

"It is as I expected," Draco replied tonelessly as he pretended to sip his tea.

"Good, have yer met the Weasley boy yet Harry? Heard he's nice, all the Weasley brood's nice."

Harry heard Malfoy snort though her covered it up with a cough once again, and Harry plastered a fake smile on his face before responding to that question.

"I found Ron to be rather prejudiced, thick-headed and insensible in the few moments I had with him."

"Oh," Hagrid looked disappointed as Harry spoke and fumbled with his coat before talking again, "Didya know I last was yer when ya was but a baby, this tiny ye were," Hagrid said as he held his massive hands a few inches apart.

"How nice, why was it the last time?" Harry asked as he mentally sighed, finding the conversation boring.

"Hadtha bring yer to the Dursleys yaknow, orders 'f Dumbledore, good man he is."

Harry glared, his hand clutching the massive cup tightly as his knuckles turned white from the tension on his muscles.

"Dumbledore told you to bring me to the Dursleys you say?" Harry gritted out from behind clenched teeth, a forced smile on his face though Hagrid didn't seem to notice that.

Draco looked over to Harry for a second, concern etched on his features as it turned into curiosity when Hagrid spoke.

"Yeah, told me ta bring yer there, you'd be safe there," Hagrid said happily as he grinned at Harry and Draco.

"Lovely, I'm sorry Hagrid but Draco and I have class now. Thank you for the invitation," Harry said curtly as he rose up from his seat before marching out of the hut.

"Yes, the tea was lovely. Thank you," Draco replied with a false smile as he followed Harry, eager to get out of the half-giant's company.

Hagrid watched them go, oblivious to Harry's anger or Draco's disgust as he spoke to the giant dog lying in the corner, snoring quietly.

"Harry's a nice kid, the Dursleys raised him well," he told the dog happily, proud to have brought Harry to such a nice, loving family, "Though the Malfoy kid's a bit stiff, dun think they'll last long 's friends."

Draco had to hurry to catch up with Harry, the black-haired boy was marching with big strides and hissing unintelligible things as his hand found his wand. His posture was stiff and angry and for a moment the heir to the Malfoy fortune was _scared _of the boy.

_"I'll kill him," _Harry hissed softly, far too soft for Draco to hear, _"I'll kill the old coot with my bare hands, placing with me there for my own safety my arse, I'll show him."_

Draco didn't notice the snakes raising their camouflaged heads from the grass, hissing angrily as they heard the paslemouth's angry rant before slithering away. Intent on telling the snakes in the Forbidden Forest of the new arrival.

"Harry, are you okay?" Draco inquired as he caught up with Harry.

"Fine, I did not like what Hagrid told me," Harry hissed in English as his grip on his wand tightened.

"Hmm-mm," Draco responded, unsure on how to proceed to he remained silent as they entered the castle again and went straight to the Great Hall.

Once they were in the Great Hall they sat down on their table, seeing some of their classmates still missing. Probably still recovering in the hospital wing. Blaise would most likely force the nurse there to make sure his skin was as _impeccable _as before, or even better, knowing the vain boy.

"Potter," Flint nodded as Harry took a seat opposite to his, "Roaming the castle I think?"

Harry nodded as Draco spoke for his companion, "Had to endure a visit with the halfbreed, I went with him."

A sixth-year nodded upon hearing Malfoy's answer, "Good move, that idiot could kill you with a shake of his hand, not to mention his filthy blood and that _smell_."

Draco nodded, "It was bearable, not something I will repeat in the near future. Father would have my head."

"Poor Potter," the sixth-year said as he watched the boy, mistaking his silence for shock, "Having to endure his smell, eat something, that ought to make you forget it."

"I still don't get why you are so disgusted by Hagrid," a girl with a braid asked as she put her plate down.

"Of course you don't, you're a filthy mudblood," Flint replied as he shot the girl a look which she shrugged off.

"Yes, yes, We talked about that when I first arrived. Or, I talked about it and you spent a week in the hospital wing _thinking _about it," the girl laughed as she shot Flint a wink.

Flint glared for a few seconds before replying, "Halfbreeds are a danger to the Wizarding World, they should be exterminated."

The girl shrugged as she resumed her lunch, "Don't really care anyway, never mind."

"The girl's mental, only Mudblood in Slytherin for eight years. But she's a Slytherin, so she's talented. Mind her wand, and her temper .. and well .. just mind her," Flint told Draco earnestly as he shot the girl a glance.

"Why should halfbreeds be exterminated?" Harry spoke up as he sighed, finally putting his wand back in his pocket.

"Oh, you're a halfblood aren't you, Potter? Well, I guess it'll be explained tonight, annual Slytherin to Slytherin introduction talk for any halfbloods in the year. Meaning you."

"Oh," Harry sighed, not really caring as his mind was still going on and on about Dumbledore.

Lunch went on swiftly, Blaise returning at the end of it as he sat down next to Guerilla-two with a huff. Harry didn't really pay any attention to him as he tuned out the boy's whining once again.

As lunch was nearly finished they were all rounded up again by Flint and Rosewood as they led them through the castle. Passing more talking portraits and moving staircases before leaving them in front of an already open door leading to a spacious classroom.

The professor, a tiny man with a big moustache, was levitating some tables in through the window as the Slytherin line walked in and took their seats at the left side of the classroom. The professor didn't notice them as he kept on whistling happily, oblivious to the fact that half of his class was already in.

The professor started a name call when the Gryffindors _finally _joined the rest of the class, as the professor started calling names until his face turned pale.

"H-harry P-p-potter?" he squeaked as he fell down his tower of books, the only way for him to reach his desk, with a thud.

Harry raised his hand silently as the professor climbed back up his books and called out the other names while, still occasionally, shooting glances at Harry. Harry couldn't really understand the look on the tiny man's face, it was either fear or awe. Either way, Harry didn't care.

"Okay, I think we have them all!" the professor squeaked enthusiastically as he flicked his wand, causing feathers to drift to their tables.

"I am professor Flitwick, head of house for Ravenclaw, and your Charms professor!" professor Flitwick said, a smile under his bushy moustache as lights danced in his eyes, "And today we begin with the levitation charm, Wingardium Leviosa and you will have to hold your wand like _this _and-"

Harry zoned out halfway during the explanation, already having learnt the charm from Tom during his stay in the Leaky Cauldron and not really interested in learning it again. His mind went back to the problem with Dumbledore, if what Hagrid said was true _he _was the one responsible which meant Harry had to add another name to his list of people he would get his revenge on. Feeling angry and rather cruel at that moment Harry shot a look at the rat Ron had on his desk in front of Harry's. So Harry flicked his wand as he pointed it at Ron's rat, sending it flying as it hit the ceiling with a dull thud before freefalling downwards and flying back up in circles. He hid his wand under the table when he saw Flitwick turn around, curious as to why Ron was spluttering like an idiot.

"Those Slytherins are hurting my pet!" the redhead blurted out as he pointed his finger at the still flying-in-circles rat.

Before Flitwick could speak Draco intervered, "How dare you accuse us Weasley? Who knows your filthy pet decided he had enough of you and your siblings and _finally _decided to ditch you."

Flitwick ignored Draco's slightly insulting remark and squeaked happily, "Oh good lord, this is _fabulous! _Will the one casting the levitation charm please raise his or her hand so I can appoint some points?"

The man looked a bit too enthusiastic for Harry's taste but after a short silence he rose his hand with a sigh as he professor bounced over to his table.

"Mister Potter, I should have known, your mother was an ace in Charms. Oh just like her, she would be proud. Five points to Slytherin!"

Draco nodded politely at Harry, "Well done, if you truly are an ace in Charms would you be interested in a trade? I'll drag you through anything formal if you teach me those charms, I can't concentrate being surrounded by bloodtraitors and mudbloods."

Draco's comment was whispered in Harry's ear as the boy weighed out the pros and cons, before nodding silently. Earning him a shake of the hand as Draco whispered "Deal."

"Now, mister Potter, if you would be so kind to let mister Weasley's pet back to the ground?" Flitwick asked after Ron demanded the 'Slimy Slytherin let Scabbers back to the ground'.

"You do know that rats were responsible for the plague that hit Europe during the middle ages, don't you Ron? They carry diseases and other bacteria's that could kill you," Harry said as he leaned forward, a grin on his lips as he watched the redhead look at him and pale before stuffing his rat back in his pocket. Poor thing, having to live with Ron.

Harry leaned back in his seat with cruel satisfaction as he watched the rest of the class struggle, happy that _he _was in charge when performing magic. The professor just jumped around, assigning points to the fuzzy haired girl whose feather was floating in the air. Harry sighed again, his glare at the merrily floating feather in front of the Gryffindor girl. That's when a _brilliant _though occurred to him, he grabbed his wand as his eyes shot to the plain feather innocently lying on the desk in front of him, mocking him with its plainness.

_"Wingardium Leviosa," _Harry hissed softly, shooting a glance at Draco to make sure he didn't hear it, as he flicked his wand swiftly before resuming his previous, laid-back position.

That's when the feather flew up straight, crashing against the ceiling. Harry shot his wand to the left from under the table, sending the feather flying through one of the windows with unimaginable speed before disappearing from view. Flitwick asked who performed that spell but nobody answered and the lesson resumed after a short and rather awkward silence.

Harry allowed a twisted smirk to grace his features as he leaned back in his seat again, he didn't move for what remained of the lesson and Draco shot him wary glances on more than one occasion. Harry Potter didn't turn into a statue, no, far from that. Harry Potter just found out that he could do magic in parsletongue, which nobody understands.  
>Harry's eyes got a gleam to them as he thought of the opportunities, the things he could do and <em>nobody <em>would hear it coming. Because they didn't speak parsletongue, the language of the snakes. But Harry knew better than to prance around hissing spells, he needed to hit the library.

But first he had to pretend being completely engrossed in Flitwick's speech, this time about everything a well performed charm could do, and Harry didn't even have to pretend. After all, there is a charm for everything, and that was just what Harry wanted to learn. Everything.

* * *

><p><strong>AN.**

**Chapter six, rather hastily done in between lots of things but it's Charms and Hagrid. And Harry, and Draco.**  
><strong>Did you know this story has over 6000 hits, over 90 alerts and more than 60 favourites? No, now you do.<strong>

**Next chapter will feature History of Magic (Though not in detail, because it is boring), a trip to the library and a nice little 'inform the muggle-raised halfblood about our beliefs' talk from the lovely house of Slytherin. In it I will explain _some _of their prejudice, but not all. After all, I inted to have this story go on untill .. wel .. the epilogue in Deathly Hallows. So, 7 books. And I'm still in year one, day two. So I have lots of oppurtunities to explain stuff.**

**Once again a major thanks for the reviews, the alerts, the favourites and most importantly just reading this, so thank you.**

**Next update, not tomorrow, not Saturday, not Sunday. Expect it around Monday/Tuesday. Because school is starting, I have hockey, a birthday, more hocking. homework and tests. I'll try, but don't expect it as quick as the others.**


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